Cam and follower mechanism



June 26, 1951 J. GRESSEL EI'AL 2,558,679

CAM AND FOLLOWER MECHANISM Filed Oct. 3, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS JULES GRESSEL AND PAUL GRESSEL ATTORNEY June 26, 1951 .1. ekzssa. EI'AL CAM AND FOLLOWER MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 5, 1947 )NVENTOR-S JULES GRESSEL AND PAUL GRESSEL ATTORNEY Patented June 26, 1951 FICE 2,558,679 CAM AND FOLLOWER MECHANISM Jules Gressel and Paul Gressel,

Guebwiller,

France, assignors to Nouvelle Societe de Construction ci-devant N. Schlumberger & Cie., Guebwiller, France, a company Application October 3, 1947, Serial No. 777,784 In France May 7, 1947 4 Claims.

The invention has for its object to provide improvements in the. mechanism for controlling the movement of the nipper jaws in combing machines of the rectilinear type proceeding from the basic Heilmanns system, which are used for the combing of filamentous materials such as cotton, wool, tows, and the like.

It is known that the control of the lower jaw of the nipper, and in certain cases also that of the upper jaw, is generally effected by means of an articulated lever actuated by a roller which co-operates with a cam. The continuous contact between the roller and the cam is obtained by means of a spring which exerts either a pulling or a twisting action. Owing to the fact that the amplitude of the movements of the elements in question is fairly large, the spring is subjected to considerable stresses which are out of proportion to the object really required, viz, that of keeping the roller in contact with the cam, and which thus produce an excessive fatigue of the spring and also an excessive wear of the roller and of the cam.

In the device according to the invention, which eliminates the above-mentioned drawback, the roller controlling the movement of one of the jaws, or of both of the jaws, is held in contact with its cam by a spring which is fixed by one of its ends to an element secured to the roller, and by the other end to a movable fastening member which, by means of a positive drive, is given a movement which partly follows up, to a predetermined degree, the movement of the control roller or of the element secured to same, in such a manner that the work of the spring is reduced to a minimum;

According to another characteristic of the invention, the positive drive of the fastening member is obtained by means of a cam.

According to a further characteristic of the invention, the same cam simultaneously actuates the control roller and the fastening member.

According to a still further characteristic of the invention, the same spring is used to press the control roller and also the fastening member against their respective cam surfaces.

Other characteristics and advantages of the invention will moreover become apparent from the ensuing description taken with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic View in side elevation of a controlling device according to the invention, provided with a draw-spring, the nipper being assumed to be in the open position;

Fig. 2 is a corresponding front view;

Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. 1, corresponding to the closed position of the nipper, and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic plan view of a modification provided with a torsion-spring.

In Figs. 1 to 3, which show a device for actuating the lower jaw provided with a draw-spring,

l designates the upper jaw and 2 the lower jaw of the nipper, intended to co-operate with the circular comb 3.

The lower jaw 2 is secured to a lever 4 which can rock about a pivot 5 and which is pivotally connected at 5 to a rod 'I. Said rod is secured, at its lower part, to a jaw l which is pivotally connected at l to a lever 8 which can rock about a pivot 9. The front end of the lever 8 supports a roller ID, the spindle m of which engages a fiat portion provided in a slide Ill where its position can be adjusted by means of an adjusting screw H. The roller It! co-operates with a cam I2 which can rotate about pivot l3.

A lever M, which can rock about a pivot l5, supports at its front end a roller l6 which also co-operates with the cam I2.

A draw-spring I! is attached, on the one hand, to the lever 8, and on the other hand is secured to the lever M by means of a part 18 which enables the tension of the spring l'i to be adjusted and which bears against the lever 14.

The foregoing device operates as follows: If it is assumed that the nipper is open (Fig. 1), the roller I0 is in contact with the region B of the cam I2 where said cam is of smallest diameter so that the lower jaw 2' of the nipper is in its highest position in which it is remote from the circular comb 3. At the same time, by the action of any control device not shown, the upper jaw l is also located in its highest position, the relative positions of the two jaws I and 2 being such that the nipper formed thereby is open.

At this stage of the operation, the roller l6 bears against the portion D of the cam l2 where the diameter of same is largest so that the fastening member I8 of the spring I! assumes its lowest position.

After inserting the sheet portion to be combed in the nipper, said nipper effects its closing movement and at the same time moves towards the circular comb 3. The movement of the lower jaw 2 is controlled by the rotation of the cam 12 in the direction of the arrow so as to bring first the region A and then the region D under the roller Ill and lift same. The lifting of the roller Ill causes the lever to swing the jaw 2 towards the circular comb 3. At the same time, the upper jaw I has been moved downwards by the action of its control device so as to close the nipper on to the sheet.

The swinging movement of the lever 8 produced by the co-operation of the roller ID with the cam 12 tensions the spring l1. However, this tension of the spring I1 is limited by the simultaneous swinging movement of the lever l4, since while the portion D of the cam l2 comes under the roller Iii, the portion B comes opposite the roller I6 so that the lever M, by the action of the spring Ii, effects a swinging movement that has the effect of producing an upward movement of the fastening member i8 which partly follows up the upward movement. of the upper fastening point of the spring [i on the lever 8. In this manner, the spring i1 is protected from any excessive tension despite the large amplitude of the movement of the roller Ii The closing position of the nipper is shown in Fig. 3. It can be seen therein that the roller H! co-operates with the portion D of the cam [2 the portion B of which is at that instant located opposite the roller It so that the relative positions of the rocking levers 8 and I4 vary comparatively little. The nipper formed by the jaws and 2 has closed and moved towards the circular comb 3.

Fig. 4 shows a plan view of a modification pro vided with a torsion-spring. In this modification, the lever iii corresponding to the lever 8 of Figs. 1 to 3 is journalled on a pivot 22 by means of its hub 2 i. Said lever supports at the front end thereof a pivot 24 on which is journalled a roller 23 co-operating with a cam 25. Said cam is fixed on a rotary shaft 26 which supports a second cam 29 co-operating with a roller 28 which is journalled on a lever 27 which can rock about the pivot 22 by means of its hub 30.

The lever l9 actuates, by means of a connecting rod 29 corresponding to the rod i of the embodiment of Figs. 1' to 3, a device controlling the lower jaw of the nipper corresponding to the elements 4, 5, of Figs. 1 to 3.

A helical spring 3| is wound round the pivot 22. The 31 of said spring is secured to the lever [52, whereas the other end 3l is fixed to the hub 39 of the lever 2?. The spring 3! bears the rollers 23 and 28 against their respective ams. The cams 5 nd Q are s ar an e h t. when the lever i9 effects a rocking movement abcut the pivot 22 by the action of the roller 23 co-operating with the cam 25, the lever 2'; effects a rocking movement in the same direction owing to the (go-operation of the roller 28 with the cam 29;. In this manner, the twisting of the spring 3! produced by the movement of its end 3W caused by the rocking of the lever i9 is partly compensated for by the movement of the end Bi due to the rocking movement of the lever 27. Thus, the twisting cf the spring can be limited to a value that precludes any excessive fatigue of said spring.

Of course, the embodiments hereinbefore described and illustrated in the drawings are only given by way of examples and it is obvious that it is possible to modify in any suitable manner the shape, the nature, the arrangement and the mounting of their elements, and also to make use of equivalent means, without thereby exceeding the scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. In a combing machine of the rectilinear type, in combination, a shaft, cam means carried on said shaft, a movable nipper jaw, a first roller engaging said cam means, a second roller engaging said cam means at'the side of said shaft which is substantially diametrically opposite from said first roller, a support, a pair of levers pivoted to said support, each of said levers having a. respective one of said rollers secured thereto, linkage means connected with said nipper jaw and pivotally engaging one of said levers, and a spring connected at its respective ends to said two levers so as to force said two rollers against said cam means from subtantially opposite sides, the sum of the radii of portions of said cam means simultaneously engageable, by said two rollers being approximately constant.

2. In a combing machine of the rectilinear type, the combination of a shaft, a cam mounted on said shaft, a movable nipper jaw, a first lever operatively connected with said nipper jaw, and a first roller mounted on said lever and engaging said cam so as to control the movement of said' nipper jaw, with a second lever substantially parallel to said first lever, a support, first pivot means swinga'oly securing said first lever to said support, second pivot means swingably securing said second lever to said support, a second roller mounted on said second lever and engaging said cam at the side of said shaft which is;subtantially diametricallyopposite from said first roller, n a t ion s ring e nnec b t i Said eve s so as s or e i o te l rs aga ns said cam from substantially opposite sides, the sum of the radii of diametrically opposite por tions of said cam being substantially constant.

3. In a combing machine of the rectilinear type, in combination, a shaft, cam means mount ted on said shaft, a movable nipper jaw, a first lever linkage means connected with said nipper jaw and pivotally engaging said lever, a first roll.- er mounted on said lever and engaging said cam means so as to control the movement of said nipper jaw, a second lever, a red pivotally supporting said two levers for relative swinging movement of said levers, a second roller mounted on said second lever and engaging said cam means at the side of said shaft which is substantially diametrically opposite from said first roller, and

a torsion spring helically wound around said rod and secured to said two levers so as to force said two rollers against said cam means from subtantially opposite sides, the sum of the radii of portions of said cam means simultaneously en gageable by said two rollers being approximately constant.

4. In a combing machine of the rectilinear- 5 6 diate said first roller and said first pivot means, REFERENCES CITED and tension Spring connected to both of said The following references are of record in the levers intermediate the respective rollers and fl] of this t pivot means thereof, thereby forcing said two UNITED STATES PATENTS rollers against said cam from substantially oppo- I Number Name Date site sides, the sum of the radn of diametrically 394,585 Lester Dec. 1888 opposite portions of said cam being substantially constant, the spacing of said first and second g ii g a1 E3? 2 pivot means of said support being substantially 10 719 390 st u :27 1903 equal to that of said rollers when in engagement 978:783 Rose Dec 1910 h said 1,633,882 Ballot June 28, 1927 JULES GRESSE 2,414,080 Amidon Jan. 14, 1947 PAUL GRESSEL. 2,426,036 Lynam Aug. 19, 1947 

